


Teenage Memories

by jensenradckles



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-02 06:27:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5237858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jensenradckles/pseuds/jensenradckles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>16 year old Grace Pendlebury and Nora Nunnington are starting a new year in Sixth Form. On the first day they meet Luke, Calum, Ashton and Michael. Things unravel from there as new characters and obstacles are introduced and we see new sides of certain characters.</p><p>Also on Wattpad under the user cuddle-calum <3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I have always liked school. I love learning new things and meeting new people. But this past year has been hell. Year 11 was filled with people who think it's funny to hit someone and tease them for anything at all. You could get teased for doing something wrong one time and it would stick with you for the rest of your school life. This year I have managed to adopt a new style of getting through school, which is generally staying out of everyone's way and doing my own thing with my best friend, Nora. We've been best friends for years and people have come and gone, but we've always stuck together, we're more like sisters now. My wall at home is just completely full of Polaroids of me and her going on adventures together. Like the time that we went to go and find our favourite band one day and just ended up seeing them from a distance, but it was enough because we ended up having an amazing day. Or the time we went to Spain with school in Year 9. Year 11 was good for me and her, we tended to stick together at all times. Through broken friendships with others and heartbreaks, we have always been at each other's side, ready with a tub of ice cream and two spoons. We just knew we would always be best friends. This year will be better. Starting sixth form is the time where people who don't want to be at school have left, and everyone is starting afresh and everyone is friendly to each other. Naturally Nora and I would start the school day by facetiming each other while we got ready. If it was a usual school day she would probably be sleeping over at mine, because she hates living at home and my parents are basically hers too. She has 3 sisters and 2 brothers and her parents don't mind her being here all the time. It was the first day and it was safe to say that I was terrified.  
"Fuck Nora what if it's like Year 11 all over again?" I panic while looking through my wardrobe for something to wear.  
"It'll be fine Grace don't stress, and we have each other anyway so it's fine. You'll always have me and I'll always have you." Nora says, carefully applying her eyeliner in the camera of her phone.  
"Okay, okay." I concede. I pull out a pair of ripped skinny jeans and slip them on, then I decide on a big, dark blue jumper to wear over the top and I adjust my brown hair in the mirror before tying up the top half, spritzing it with hairspray in an attempt to tame the fly away hairs. I carefully apply the lipstick I bought last week, patting it with a tissue and make sure I have all my school stuff packed. I'm taking a dark red folder with me for most of my lessons this week, but I won't take it in today, I'll wait until I've got my timetable. I unplug my phone from the charger and grab the cable and my portable charger and my headphones at the same time.  
"I'll see you at school babe I have to set off now," I say to Nora while grabbing my keys off my dresser and pulling on my black jacket.  
"Okay see you soon," Nora said, kissing the screen and I blew her a kiss and clicked the hang up button. I ran downstairs and grabbed a chocolate crepe and walked out of the door. The walk to school isn't long for me, only about 5 songs and I walk through the gates and look around at all the younger years. This morning I would find out who's form I'm in. I wonder who I'll be with. The forms are posted on a board in the front entrance. I'm not with Nora; Fuck that's annoying. My form room is in the Geography block so I started to walk up the stairs and along the corridor. My form tutor is nice enough. Miss Mackenzie in geography is a young teacher with dark hair who will give you a sweet and life advice if you need it. I know that she puts people into a seating plan though. This means I won't be sat alone on the bright side. I pushed open the door just as the bell rang to get to form and Miss Mackenzie was stood at the front holding a sheet of paper with what I assumed was the seating plan on it. I walked up to the front with a newfound confidence.  
"Hi Miss." I smiled.  
"Grace! Should I be so lucky to have you in my form?" She smiled at me, showing all her pearly white teeth. "You're sat at the front here next to Luke." I nodded and slid into the seat, slipping off my backpack and putting it on the floor in front of me. There was only about 4 people already in the classroom, but it would fill up soon.  
I took my phone out of my pocket to see that I had a text from Nora.  
Received from: Nora

 _I'm in Mr Porter's form, send help! Sat next to some girl called Bryana. I'm kind of intimidated, she's gorgeous:(_  
Sent by: Grace  
_I'm in Miss Mackenzie's form and I'm sat next to a guy called Luke, but I haven't met him yet. I'm hoping he's hot x_  
I turned around and there was a guy walking in with brown scruffy hair and he was wearing a black Good Charlotte t-shirt and black skinny jeans. He was tall, like really tall. As he walked towards Miss Mackenzie I saw that he had a black lip ring, yep definitely hot. He said something to Miss Mackenzie and she laughed. He shifted his backpack up his shoulder and smiled. She said something back and he nodded and came and sat next to me.  
"So you're Luke?" I said, quietly. Miss Mackenzie had started doing the register.  
"Yeah hi, what's your name?" He replied.  
"Wow nice accent, I'm Grace," I commented. He laughed.  
"Thanks I just moved here from Australia." He said. "Me and my three friends convinced our parents to move here over the summer."  
"Well I hope you enjoy it here then with a move that big." I smiled.  
"I'm sure I will, if everyone I meet is as nice as you," Luke grinned. I felt blush rise in my cheeks.  
"If you think I'm nice you should meet my friend Nora," I smiled, dropping a hint that we should meet up. "I'd love to meet your friends," I added.  
"That sounds like fun." He smiled. "So tell me about yourself."  
We spent the next 20 minutes of form talking about everything from music taste (we're both massive Green Day and All Time Low die hards) to our families. When the bell went we started to get up.  
"What have you got now?" He said, pulling out his timetable.  
"Uhhh," I checked my timetable, "Triple music." I looked up at him. "You?"  
"I have triple music too! I hope Cal, Mikey and Ashton do too," He said, grinning.  
We walked together to music, our shoulders bumping together as some of the younger years pushed past. There was never a break in conversation, we just get on with ease.  
"I can't remember the last time I got on this well with someone I just met," Luke admitted.  
"Me neither!" I said. "We just seemed to click." I laughed as he shoved me playfully.  
"That's the lamest thing I've ever heard. You're such a dork." He smirked. We pushed through the door of the music classroom and there was barely anyone in there, looks like there weren't many people doing music.  
"Hey look they're over there!" Luke said, grabbing my arm and dragging me over to the other side of the room to where three guys were sat. One had brightly coloured red hair and an eyebrow piercing, the guy sat next to him had brown curly hair that framed his face and the last one had darker skin, he looked Asian and he had dark brown hair. They were introduced as Michael, Ashton and Calum. Ashton was hot. Like really hot. Bright green eyes that just made me melt every time he looked at me. Luke and I pulled up a chair each and he introduced me, describing me highly as "the best girl he had ever met".  
"Oh I don't know about that," I laughed, playing with a bracelet on my wrist.  
"Where are they from?" Ashton asked, looking at the bracelets on my arm from braided leather to wooden beads.  
"Oh, well I really like adventure, and so does my best friend Nora, so these are all the reminders from each of the trips we've had." I pulled up my jean leg to show them the two anklets I have on my ankle.  
"Hey that's kind of like me and my tattoos," Calum laughed, pulling his sleeves up and his collar down to show me three impressive tattoos. "Except less adventure and more that I just like to have reminders of good times."  
"Hey you never showed me a picture of Nora," Luke reminded me, nudging me with his knee. I turned to look at the teacher, he looked like he wouldn't be starting the lesson for at least another 5 minutes, as the computer wasn't starting. I pulled out my phone and unlocked it to scroll to a picture of me and Nora last week when we went for hot chocolate at midnight in our pyjamas.  
"Wow she's cute," Luke said and I smiled, my wingman skills were coming in handy. Nora really needed to meet this dude, he's so perfect for her.  
"You can meet her later," I laughed, texting her to meet us outside the gates at the end of school. I locked my phone, sliding it into my bag. The teacher, Mr Denman, turned to the class then and asked us to grab a chair and make a circle in the middle of the classroom. Ashton grabbed the back of my chair and pulled me back next to him, making me squeal.  
"You just scared the shit out of me," I said, laughing and I gave his arm a swift punch.  
"Owwwwww," Ashton said, fake pouting.  
"Aww sorry babe I'll go easy on you next time," I teased, kissing my finger and pressing it where I punched him.  
At the end of the lesson, we had all introduced each other and I learnt that Calum plays bass guitar, Luke and Mikey play guitar and Ashton plays drums. I spent most of the lesson trying to out play Michael on guitar. Luke deemed me the winner, but he was probably just doing it to be nice. The lesson was spent attempting to learn a song on the guitar to perform next week with a partner. I chose Luke to partner with me because he can sing. We picked Lego House by Ed Sheeran. At the end of the period, we packed up our instruments and Ashton slung his arm over my shoulder as we walked out of the classroom into the corridor. Luke nudged me again.  
"Are we going to go and meet Nora now?" He said.  
"You're like a puppy with a bone aren't you?" I laughed. "Of course, I said we would meet her outside the gates, we have an hour and a half of lunch now. I told her that I was bringing a cute guy to meet her too." I winked and Luke looked horrified.  
"Hey you didn't need to tell her that about me Grace," Ashton said, winking at me and making me laugh.  
"Oh no! Now she's gonna expect too much and she's gonna be upset when I don't live up to the expectations!"  
"Don't worry, I didn't really tell her that, but she wouldn't be disappointed Luke you dipshit have some faith," I laughed. We pushed open the gates to go and meet Nora.


	2. Chapter 2

I spotted her from a distance in her trademark black jeans and black and white Adidas. She has long, almost waist length dark blonde hair and she was typing on her phone and looking down, completely oblivious to me and the guys. As we approached, my phone buzzed with a text.  
Received from: Nora 


	3. Chapter 3

We were standing outside the huge house still buzzing with people in the cold wind, and I was just glad that it wasn’t raining. I crossed my arms over my body after changing into my converse, the cold air biting at my skin. Ashton shrugged off his denim jacket and slipped it over my shoulders, pulling me close to his side. I felt a blush creep up my neck and I smiled up at him. I was seriously developing a crush on this guy. We waited outside for five minutes, and occasionally Luke and Nora would just laugh together. I really wanted that to work out with them and Luke was so jealous earlier I knew he liked her. It was kind of cute.  
“Can we stop at Tesco for popcorn and stuff on the way home?” Ashton asked.”  
“Yeah that sounds good, I actually have money with me this time.” I laughed.   
“Mmh food sounds good right now.” Ashton said, putting his nose in my hair and tickling my side. Suddenly, Michael and Calum fell out of the house, Michael laughing hysterically and Calum was bright red and was holding his jacket in front of his body.  
“You guys okay?” Luke chuckled, raising his eyebrows at Calum’s jacket.   
“Yeah...” Calum began.  
“Calum just got sucked off in a bathroom worth more than everything he owns put together.” Michael blurted out.   
“Dude! You literally just said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” Calum said, and I punched his arm.   
“Chill man, we’re all friends here.” I said.   
“Okay whatever, let’s just go.” Calum said, adjusting his jacket and blushing. We set off walking but it was a bit of a struggle because everything was hilarious and I couldn’t walk properly. I love the comfort of Ashton’s denim jacket around me, even if it is massive. He had slipped his arm around my waist as we walked.   
“You look good in my clothes.” He said in a low tone that only I could hear. We eventually reached my house, armed with popcorn and marshmallows. All the lights in the house were off, meaning my parents were asleep. I had to turn the torch on my phone on to find our way up the stairs which just resulted in stifled giggles as we tripped up the stairs trying to make as little noise as possible. The perks of living in the attic is that my parents have a bedroom on the ground floor, and they can’t hear a thing from down there. Once we got up to my room, I flung all my duvets, pillows and blankets on the floor and flicked on the TV. Everyone flopped down on the floor onto the huge pile. Luke and Nora were cuddled up close together and Luke was whispering something in her ear, they seemed to do that a lot. It was like they were in their own little world. I flicked on the movie channel and sat down with Ashton. I looked across at Michael and Calum cuddling next to us. Ashton moved my hair from around my neck, brushing his fingers against the sensitive skin there and leaned closer.   
“Do you mind if I cuddle you?” he whispered quietly, and I shivered at the touch against my ear. I hummed my approval and moved so he could put his arm around me, pulling me close to lean against his chest he traced the skin on my arms, pulling a blanket over us and propping himself up with a cushion against my wall. I sighed, loving the gentle touch on my arm. He squeezed his arm, bringing me closer to him. Glancing across at the rest of my friends I was upset by the fact that it was only half 11 and the group was dead at the moment.   
“Guys can we keep drinking if I go and get my vodka from the secret hiding place in my wardrobe? We have a whole day off tomorrow and you’re all sleeping over and my buzz is wearing off.” I whined, pushing Calum gently.   
“Sure go and grab it.” Luke said, sitting up. I linked my hand with Ashton’s for a second and squeezed it, so he knows that I’m not saying this to get out of his cuddle. I got up and grabbed the vodka, tiptoeing downstairs to get a few shot glasses. When I got back into my room, they had formed a circle and Luke was wrapped up in a duvet, with Nora wrapped up next to him. I came and sat down in between Ashton’s legs leaning against him again and he immediately wrapped his arms around my middle without hesitation. I was loving the attention I was getting from him.   
“Now, which would you guys rather play, Truth or Dare or Never have I ever?” I said, screwing the lid back on the bottle and shuffling back against Ashton. I opened the popcorn and took a couple of pieces.   
“No I always lose Never have I ever.” Calum whined.  
“Perfect, let’s play that then.” I laughed. “Okay so the rules are that you hold up 5 fingers and we go around and say something we’ve never done and if you’ve done it you put a finger down and then at the end you have to take two shots.” I went first, which was only fair since I suggested the game.   
“Never have I ever… had sex outside.” I declared and Calum, Ashton and Michael all put a finger down. I laughed and elbowed Ashton lightly laughing.  
“Kinky.” I whispered to him.   
“Never have I ever… given someone a blowjob.” Ashton smirked, and Nora and I both put a finger down.   
“Ha! Now we’re even.” Ashton said joyously, tracing my sides. I giggled, now it was Michael’s turn to think of one.   
“Never have I ever lost my virginity to Sadie Malcolm in Year 10.” Michael laughed and Luke looked mildly offended as he put a finger down.   
“Dude that’s so specific! How is that fair?” Luke complained.   
“Shut up Lucas.” I said, joke scowling at him, he stuck his tongue out at me.   
“Never have I ever, had a threesome.” Calum said, turning to Michael, who put a finger down.  
“And I’m not ashamed of it bitches.” He said, throwing a marshmallow up into the air and catching it in his mouth, holding up his three fingers. As we neared the end of the game and Calum had one finger left and it was Ashton’s turn.  
“Never have I ever…” he began, pretending to think as Calum’s eyes looked pleadingly upon him. I doubt he was bothered about taking a shot and more about what Ashton would dredge up from the past.   
“Never have I ever pissed out of my bedroom window when I was drunk.”   
“Fuck you man.” Calum scowled, trying not to smile while pouring out two shots for himself.   
“Ew, you really did that?” I laughed, I love how much I’m laughing recently.  
“Yeah but I was drunk so it was okay.” He said defensively, tipping the clear liquid down his throat.   
“Okay well everyone else did some pretty bad stuff too so everyone else, take a shot.” Ashton declared.   
“Right well, who’s up for a game of truth or dare.” Michael said, grimacing after the last shot. Everyone nodded, clearly no one was ready to sleep yet. Luke volunteered to go first and he chose dare.   
“Make out with Nora.” I smirked and as soon as the words were out of my mouth Luke had tipped Nora’s chin towards him with a finger and pressed their lips together and after 3 seconds they pulled away, Nora giggling and I noticed that they had their hands intertwined. I was gonna have to ask her about that tomorrow.   
“Okay Grace, since you dared us for the last one it’s your turn now.” Nora said.  
“Okay, dare.” I accepted.   
“Make out with Ashton.” She said, raising her eyebrows at me. Ah, payback for that last dare. I turned to face him, brushing my hair out of my face. I looked into his eyes and we smiled at each other before I cupped the side of his face gently and pressed our lips together. I felt his hand travel down to my waist. I deepened the kiss slightly and when the five seconds was up, we pulled away to wolf whistles from Michael and I felt Ashton’s grip on my waist. I settled back against him again, but it felt different this time, safer and more secure. More serious. He high fived Michael. Then it was Nora’s turn again.   
“Truth.” She replied.  
“Who would you fuck in this group?” Michael asked quickly.  
“Luke.” She answered, making Luke choke and laugh at the same time.   
“Easy. Okay my turn, dare.” Michael said, sitting up.  
“Eat one of those marshmallows as seductively as you can.” Luke laughed. Michael picked a pink marshmallow out of the bag and began to lick all over it in an overdramatic way. Everyone was laughing and cringing as he did it.  
“Right, Calum hasn’t done anything yet.” Luke said, turning to Cal.   
“Truth.” He said.  
“Who was the girl who you were with at the party?” I ask before anyone else can.  
“Honestly, I have no idea. All I know is that she was willing to put my dick in her mouth.” He laughed, shrugging.   
“Okay, okay guys this was fun, we can watch the movies now.” I said, turning the TV onto the channel that was playing a movie night. At the moment it was The Amazing Spiderman 2.  
“Dude this is my favourite film of all time.” I say, snuggling back with Ashton and pulling a duvet over us as the others nestle in next to us in one massive cuddle.   
“No way oh my god, mine too.” Ashton says. I turned around to face him for a second, our noses almost touching. I smiled sincerely, looking into his hazel eyes and he smiled back. I turned back around to face the TV as Andrew Garfield came on the screen. I snuggled up to watch.

I look across and everyone has drifted off and the TV is on a low volume playing the adverts. I flick it off and the room is drowned in complete darkness other than a watery line of moonlight spilling through my blinds. Luke and Nora are closely snuggled together at the end and I chuckle at how we met these guys this morning.  
“Ashton?” I whispered.  
“Mmm.” He murmured, squeezing me tight.  
“You awake?” I said, turning around to face him when he opened his eyes.  
“Yeah.” He smiled. I leaned in, brushing our lips together briefly. He looked at me for a second, studying my features and making me feel underneath the microscope, but surprisingly not in a bad way, and then connected our lips together again, pushing with slightly more force. This felt right. And it felt so amazing. He gripped my waist with his long fingers and pulled me into his lap, brushing his hands up my thighs. I smoothed my hands up his biceps, feeling the muscles ripple under my fingertips.   
“How have I known you for less than 24 hours?” He sighed breathlessly.   
We spent the rest of the night entwined in each other’s arms, our legs tangled together and noses touching, whispering our secrets and deepest thoughts and fears, our conversations threaded with tiny kisses and giggles. We stayed up way past three, just talking in the moonlight streaming in from my roof window, his gorgeous features highlighted only by the white light in shimmering streaks from my blinds. Where has he been all my life?


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks later.

The past two weeks Ashton and I have been meeting up loads outside of school, when we weren’t meeting up with the rest of the guys. We have all become so close in a week and I would genuinely consider them my best friends. Nora is sleeping at mine every night, and her and Luke have been texting each other nonstop whenever they aren’t together. I think it’s probably safe to say that I have a seriously fully fledged crush on Ashton, and I would be surprised if he didn’t feel the same way from the way we have been acting together. We kind of act like we’re dating, but we technically aren’t. We haven’t actually talked about it yet, but I’m planning to do it tonight. We have kissed since the night of truth or dare, but only in private. Tonight, we’re all going on a camping trip to the Peak District, so it should be incredibly fun. Michael has gotten us some weed for the weekend, so we’ll have a good time even if it rains. We wanted to go before the weather got cold again. It’s a Friday today, and my alarm goes off on my bedside table, startling me awake. I was all hot and sweaty, God knows what I had been dreaming of. I poke Nora as I walk past her bed to get her up, she’s the worst in the mornings. I walk into the ensuite, stripping down and climbing into my shower. I lathered up some shampoo in my hands, rubbing it into my hair, pulling at the ends. I wish it would just grow already, Ashton’s hair is basically the same length as mine. I rub some apple scented shower gel over me and then get out, patting myself down with a towel. I squeezed the water out of my hair and walked back into my room, poking Nora again as I walked past. I sat down at my dressing table, flicking on my hairdryer and giving it a blast. It takes so much less time to dry now. I apply my usual makeup of concealer, powder and mascara and walk over to Nora’s bed, wrapping a dressing gown around me.  
“Nora get the fuck up.” I said, pulling the duvet off her. This is a regular thing for us in the mornings. She groaned into her pillow, grasping at the duvet. Eventually she turned over and rolled out of bed, rubbing her eyes and walking into the bathroom. I went over to the wardrobe and got out a pair of black skinny jeans, pulling them on along with a baggy purple tshirt and a hoodie. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail to get it off my face. I feel so shit today, lookswise, and I wasn’t about to start trying. Nora walked out of the bathroom, all washed and makeup on. She grabbed a grey tshirt out of my wardrobe and pulled on her skinny jeans from yesterday. She tied a blue and white checked flannel round her waist, adjusting her hair in the mirror and wiping the side of her mouth to catch some of the lipstick that had smudged slightly. I laced up my black converse as she stepped into her white Adidas.  
“Okay, lets go.” She said, pulling her schoolbag over her shoulder. On the way to school we discussed her and Luke, and me and Ashton and the trip tomorrow. 

After school, Ashton came back to mine and we all agreed to meet at mine later. Nora went with Luke and we agreed to get to mine in an hour and a half so we could set off as quickly as possible. Me and Ashton were both packed and we had an hour to kill so I flicked on the next episode of Orange is the New Black which we had been watching together the past week. I climbed into my bed, pulling Ashton in next to me. He cuddled up to me, pressing me against him and kissing the top of my head.   
“Ashton can I talk to you?” I said, sitting up and straddling his lap while he sat up slightly.   
“Of course,” he said simply.  
“What are we? I like you a lot, and I feel like I want more.” I said, tracing patterns on his firm stomach.  
“You like me?” he grinned, putting his hands on my waist. “Well I like you too.” He said laughing.  
“So what are we going to do about it?” I said, lifting up his shirt to place my hands on the warm skin of his stomach.  
“Well,” Ashton began, smoothing his thumbs over my hips. “Would you like to be my girlfriend?” He asked, looking up at me.  
“No not at all.” I said, and his face fell. “I’m kidding I’m kidding!” I laughed, leaning down to kiss all over his face.  
“That was so mean!” He said, tickling me and moving so he was on top of me. “Don’t do that again you scared me.” He said, propping himself up on his elbow. I looked into his eyes, raising one eyebrow comically, making him laugh before he kissed me gently. I felt him smile against my lips. I rolled him off me, cuddling against him so we were spooning. I’m usually little spoon but there was one time that he wanted to be the little spoon. It was kinda cute. His arms wrapped around me and his body pressed to mine, I kissed his hand and felt myself slowly drift off.   
I was awoken half an hour later by Michael walking straight into my room and climbing into my bed to join us. In my half asleep state, I pulled him closer and he snuggled against me, giggling. Then Luke and Nora walked in.   
“Ew guys cmon.” Luke said, holding Nora’s hand. “We need to get going.” I nodded, squeezing Mikey and then shuffling my butt against Ashton to wake him up.  
“Ash babe we’re going now wake up,” I said, turning over to poke his face.  
“Ughhh do I have to?” he whined, his arms tightening around me.  
“Yes, it’s gonna be fun.” I said, ruffling his hair and kissing his nose before prising myself from his arms and getting up. He got up soon after when I picked up our bags to carry to the car, he took them off me and walked downstairs to deposit them in the boot. 

The car journey was long and tedious and Ashton fell asleep with his head on my boobs. He says it was by accident but Luke put a picture on his snapchat story of us cuddling in the back seat. Halfway through the trip Michael had passed around a bag of sweets, he was driving, seeing as he was the only one who had passed his test. Our bags were shoved at our feet and Luke and Nora were squashed with the tent. The only tent we could get hold of was a 4 person one, so we were all gonna have to cuddle, which definitely wasn’t a problem for us. We’re a very close friendship group. How have I known these guys for only two weeks? It was almost impossible. We pulled into a bleak field covered in multi-coloured tents, and a sad looking toilet block in the corner. Ashton was awake now, and he had a hand on my thigh, tracing light patterns as he knew I liked. When we had sorted out with the campsite owner where we would be staying, Mikey pulled into our designated space and we all climbed out of the car. It wasn’t raining but it was a bit cold. We had to get the tent up first so I gave Calum and Michael that task while the rest of us unloaded the car and Luke put up the gazebo with Ashton. Me and Nora got all of the bags out of the car and unloaded them onto the grass. We figured that the car would always be warm if we got too cold, which we shouldn’t do anyway seeing as we brought an abundance of blankets and we would all be snuggling tonight anyway. I looked over to where Nora was attempting to help Luke hold the gazebo up and he giggled. He literally fucking giggled at her joke. I was so teasing him about that later. Once the tent was up and pegged in, I moved all the bags and sleeping bags inside. It actually wasn’t that small inside. I was expecting it to be smaller, but this tent must be made for 4 overweight people. 

Later that evening, we had made a small campfire and dragged some blankets around it and me and Ashton were cuddled under a duvet. Luke and Nora were on the opposite side.   
“Something tells me that now is the time for the joint. Can I skin up?” Michael said, pulling a small blue tin out of his back pocket. He popped it open and pulled out a long brown joint and a red lighter. He lit up, puffing out smoke as he did. He’s obviously done this before. He passed it along to me and I put it to my lips, breathing in and then taking it back into my lungs before breathing it out again. This was not my first experience with drugs. However when I handed it to Ashton, he seemed reluctant.   
“Here,” I said, taking the joint off him. “Face me. We’re gonna shotgun it.” I said, and Mikey wolfwhistled. He knew what I was talking about.  
“Okay.” Ashton said, turning so he was sat closely opposite me.  
“Okay so I’m gonna take it back, we’re gonna liplock and then you’re gonna breathe in.” I said, positioning the joint between my index and third finger, taking it back. Using my other hand, I pressed my hand to the back of Ashton’s head, pulling him towards me, connecting our lips together. I breathed out slowly and he breathed in the smoke I passed to him. We pulled apart and he breathed out a thin plume of smoke before kissing me gently again. I laughed, passing the joint to Calum. We passed it around the circle with ease, taking shorter drags the shorter the joint got. Ashton pulled me closer to him, kissing me softly on the small patch of skin in between my neck and shoulders. He sucked gently, alternating between kissing and sucking against the soft skin there. Once he was done, he pecked tiny gentle kisses on the now sensitive skin. I laced our fingers together, resting my head on his shoulder. I felt amazing, like everything around me was floating. Being high is incredible, and I truly felt on top of the world as we watched the flames flicker in the pit in front of us, licking the sides of the stones. Michael and Calum were lying on their backs looking up to the stars above, laughing about a meme they had seen earlier on tumblr. I love my friends.   
“I love you guys.” I told them, nuzzling my head into the crook of Ashton’s neck.  
“We love you too.” Giggly Calum said. I heard a rustling from Michael’s direction, and I realised that he had bought a huge bag of marshmallows. This was turning out to be one of the best nights of my life. 

In the early hours of the morning, we had discussed the finer things in the world, and the stranger things. We had a very in depth and detailed argument over whether boobs or butts are better. Eventually we agreed that they were both as good as each other. The fire had gone out and we had begun to make our way inside the tent, cuddling up to each other. Ashton was being my big spoon, as he usually did. As we were falling asleep, I felt him gently kiss my cheek, tightening his arm’s grip around me. This was where I always hoped to be; surrounded by some of the most important people in my life.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up in a mess of tangled legs and Ashton’s face nuzzled into my hair. His arms were wrapped tightly around my side, and as I shuffled in my half asleep state I felt him whine slightly, pulling me closer again. That was so cute. Luke and Nora were spooning on the other side of the tent and Mikey and Calum were snuggled close. I seemed to be the only person awake so I sat up, despite a sleeping Ashton’s best effort. I pulled off my tshirt and was hunting in my bag for a new one. I felt Ashton’s hand wrap around my waist, pulling me back into him. He wrapped his arm around my stomach, tracing the smooth skin. He hummed gently into my ear.  
“Good morning.” He said quietly, kissing my neck. “Why are you stripping in front of my three straight male friends?”  
“They’re all asleep. I was getting up to make breakfast.” I said, stroking his arm.  
“Mhmmmm,” He groaned. “You’re the best.” He said, kissing my neck and letting me get up. I sat up again, pulling a baggy purple tie dye tshirt out of my bag. I slipped off my sleep shorts and turned around to see Ashton lying on his arm, watching me sleepily and smiling softly. I pulled up my tracksuit bottoms and tied up my converse, climbing out of the tent.  
The grass was dewy and the air was clear and chilly. I grabbed Ashton’s hoodie as I got out, slipping it over my head. I grabbed the matches and lit the trangea, putting a frying pan on the heat. I went into the food bag and grabbed the oil, splashing a bit onto the pan. While I waited for it to heat up, I checked my watch. 9:30am. 

As I was cooking the bacon, people slowly began to climb out of the tent. First it was Ashton, coming to join me. He leant down and kissed me gently.  
“You look good in my clothes.” He said, pulling plates and cutlery out of the Tesco bag, and then putting a pan of water on to boil to make tea. 

Once breakfast was finished, we decided to take a walk through the countryside, seeing as we had nothing else to do. We packed everything up into the tent and locked the car up. I tied Ashton’s hoodie around my waist and plaited my hair, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. We walked through endless fields and over stiles until we came back to the campsite at 5 in the afternoon, tired out but content. We were settled around the fire again, cuddled together but Mikey and Nora were snuggled next to each other and Luke was sat close to Calum as they whispered together. It was quiet tonight, but we were all sleepy. Ashton was tracing lazy circles on my stomach.  
“Nora, come sit with me.” Luke said, drawing her attention to him and patting the spot on the blanket next to him.  
“You come here.” Nora said, opening her arms.  
“She’s cuddling with me right now Lucas.” Michael said in a jokey way.  
“Well I would rather she cuddled with me.” Luke said defensively.  
“She’s not your girlfriend Luke. Maybe if you ring Arzaylea she would be up for a hug and a fuck.” Mikey retorted.  
“Fuck you Michael, why would you bring that up now?” Luke spat.  
“We’re all friends here, does Nora know about Arzaylea?” Michael said.  
“Who’s Arzaylea?” Nora said, looking between Luke and Michael.  
“Forget it I need some space.” Luke said, getting up and walking off. There was silence between us and then Nora stood up.  
“I think I’m gonna go and find him, try and talk to him yknow? He’ll listen to me.” Nora said, walking off in the direction that Luke went.  
“Who’s Arzaylea?” I asked after a couple of minutes of silence.  
“Just some girl Luke was fucking.” Michael said. “I can’t believe he hasn’t told Nora.”  
“Are they still…” I began and Calum shook his head.  
“No not since he met Nora.” Calum said, looking into the fire.  
“So why hasn’t he told her?” I asked.  
“I don’t know.” Michael said. “I probably shouldn’t have brought it up right? Fuck he’s gonna be so annoyed at me. I just don’t want him to mess her about. He doesn’t have the best relationship history and I care about her y’know?” Michael said, running a hand through his already messy hair.  
“Just let him cool off and talk to him later.” Calum said, grabbing a marshmallow out of the bag.  
“Yeah…” Michael said, nibbling his lip. I felt Ashton kissing the back of my neck gently, pulling me closer to him.  
“We’re gonna turn in I think.” I said, squeezing Ash’s hand.  
“Yeah see you guys in the morning.” Ashton said, pulling me into the tent. He laid me down gently beneath him, giggling and kissing me softly. I moved his hand underneath my shirt to my stomach. He traced lightly, lifting up his hand up closer to my bra. I silently thanked myself for wearing my black bra today. He pushed my tshirt up, kissing my stomach gently.  
“You’re really fucking beautiful you know that?” He murmured quietly against my skin.  
“I don’t know about that…” I said, pushing my fingers through his hair. He kissed in between my boobs, then pulled my tshirt down, kissing my neck. He sucked gently, kissing and licking the same spot on my collarbones.  
“Do you like marking me?” I giggled and he pulled away, giggling and kissing my face and neck all over, making me laugh. “That tickles!” I squealed.  
“Maybe I do like knowing that you’re mine.” He said, sitting up to pull his shirt over his head.  
“Well maybe I like knowing you’re mine.” I said, running my hands through his hair and smiling. He kissed me gently, incredibly softly and pressed his forehead to mine. He stripped down to just his boxers and I pulled off my t-shirt and leggings, snuggling up to him under a huge duvet. I slowly drifted off to the sound of Ashton breathing gently behind me. 

I woke up to the sound of Michael and Luke talking outside. I turned over to see Nora curled up in the corner. I shuffled over to her, cuddling her close to me. She had a line of mascara under her eye and I held her close as I listened to the conversation outside.  
“Look man, I don’t want to hurt her.” Luke said. “I really like her.”  
“I know but what’re you going to do about Arzaylea?” Michael said.  
“I don’t know I’ll figure it out though, I don’t even like Arzaylea. She’s hot sure but she’s clingy and I reckon she only fucked me because she was tipsy.” Luke said sadly.  
“Dude, you have Nora now. Just, don’t fuck this up.” Michael says.  
“That’s the last thing I wanna do.” Luke said and then there was silence. I was glad they had made up, I didn’t want any awkwardness on the journey home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry the last chapter was so short omg okay here's a longer one to make up for it x

Lying in bed on a Friday night with my boyfriend and surrounded by my best friends had to be the best way to spend the start of the weekend. Nora had brought her friend Danni from art with her and she was so lovely, she just immediately got on with everyone. I’m pretty sure Calum likes her, judging by the fact that they were cuddled up on the floor. I got up, leaving Ashton wrapped up in the blanket to go with Nora and Danni to the bathroom, while Luke and Calum fought over which dvd to watch. We got inside and I flicked the light on, closing and locking the door behind us. I got my toothbrush and wet it, squeezing toothpaste out of the tube. Nora grabbed a makeup wipe and starting running it over her eyes.   
“What’s actually happening between you and Luke?” Danni asked, after observing Luke nuzzling Nora’s hair earlier.  
“Well, I don’t know. I like him and he likes me, but I don’t think he wants a relationship.” Nora said sadly. “It just makes me feel like I’m being led on. What about you and Calum?”   
“Oh, well he’s kinda cute.” Danni said, blushing. I spat in the sink and pulled my hair up into a bun.   
“He likes you. For sure.” I said, wiping my makeup off.   
“You think?” Danni said, looking slightly hopeful as she put the toilet seat lid down to sit on.   
“Yep definitely.” Nora said. I unlocked the door when I was done, walking out and sitting down on the bed. I took Ashton’s t-shirt from the foot of the bed where he had thrown it. I quickly pulled off my other tshirt and slipped his on before anyone except Ashton noticed. I unhooked my bra from the back and pulled it out of the sleeve, flinging it to the side somewhere and I climbed back into bed, my bare legs feeling soft against the new sheets. Ashton smoothed his hand up my thigh pulling my leg around him so he could cuddle into me.   
“Nice shirt.” He murmured.   
“Thanks it’s my boyfriend’s.” I laughed, poking him. His phone lit up from the bedside table and he turned over to check it, replying quickly and then putting it down again.  
“Who was it?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.”  
“No one important.” He replied. That was a bit weird, why wouldn’t he tell me who it was.  
“Hey you know Bryana texted me asking if you wanted to meet up again Ash.” Michael said, his mouth full of popcorn.   
“Who’s Bryana?” I asked, turning to look at Ashton.  
“My ex girlfriend.” He said quietly. “Yeah I know she just texted me. Why did you give her my number?” he said to Mikey.  
“I don’t know, she asked? Sorry man.” Michael replied.  
“You don’t need to worry babe.” Ashton said, rubbing my tummy gently.  
“But she is holding a party tomorrow night which is such a perfect excuse to get trashed that I don’t think we can pass on.” Michael said. Even though I did feel a bit odd going to Ashton’s ex’s as his new girlfriend, I figured it would be fun.  
“I mean, I’m down.” I said, cuddling into Ashton.  
“Sure but now we’re watching Mean Girls.” Luke said, cuddling Nora back into the duvet who went reluctantly. I could tell she really wanted to be with Luke but I’m not sure if he wants a relationship yet. He told me he just doesn’t want to mess things up. We all settled down to watch the mishaps of Cady Heron and Regina George. Luke and I managed to quote half of the movie and we even did it in the accents as well. I told him he makes a fabulous Regina George and we managed to laugh so much my stomach hurt. Luke’s one of my closest friends out of our gang, seeing as we spend every day in form together, and we do a lot of projects in music together.   
“Are we alright to sleep over?” Calum asked, pulling a blanket up around him and Danni. She makes a good addition to our group.  
“Yeah that’s fine.” I said, yawning and looking at the time. “Can we go shopping tomorrow morning? I need to buy something for the party tomorrow to assert my dominance and I heard that Danni has never tried bubble tea.” I said, and the rest of us gasped.  
“What? What did I do?” She said, fake panicking.  
“You must. It’s kind of like our initiation ceremony for this group.” I said, pointing at the polaroid on the wall next to her head of our first trip to town together. Next to it was a picture that Nora had got of me and Ashton kissing around the campfire last weekend and there was one of us all in a field on our walk.   
“Yeah we’re gonna have to go to get bubble tea anyway so I’m down.” Luke yawned. “Can we watch How I Met Your Mother?” He said, turning the channel over and turned it way down. The light from the TV was flickering over us, illuminating our faces and then fading away when it dimmed. I turned to Ashton, sleepy now. I kissed him gently, tracing my hand through his hair. He smiled against my lips and I fell asleep to the sound of Luke chuckling at the TV.

The next morning, I woke up and heard my parent’s pulling out of the driveway. I sat up and looked around. Calum and Danni were sprawled together on the floor and Luke and Nora were tucked up together with Nora lying on Luke’s chest. Mikey was on one side of me, spread-eagled, Ashton wasn’t next to me though. I got up and stretched, and then crept over the sleeping bodies to tiptoe down my stairs and open my door. I walk downstairs and into the kitchen to see my boyfriend standing at the oven, topless and with his trackies hanging low on his hips as he poured oil into a pan and poured pancake mix in. I walked up to him and hugged him from behind, he’s so tall. He turned around and I walked to him side where he put his arm around me, kissing my temple.   
“Good morning.” I said, kissing him quickly and flicking the kettle on for a cup of tea.   
“I’m liking this outfit.” He said, looking me up and down. I was only wearing his vest and the low hanging armholes made for some very tasteful side boob. I wasn’t wearing anything on my legs either, I knew I was gonna get very warm last night with Mikey and Ashton cuddled into me.   
“Pancakes?” I said, looking into the pan at the chocolate chip pancakes he was making.  
“Yeah I figured we could do with some breakfast before town today.” He said. “I met your parents, by the way.”   
“Oh how were they?” I asked, my parents were very temperamental.   
“Lovely, I think they like me.” He said, flipping the pancake over.   
“I’m gonna go and get everyone up.” I said, kissing his cheek and walking back upstairs. I walked back into my bedroom and picked up a couple of pillows from next to the door. I threw them at everyone and told them to hurry the fuck up because there are pancakes going cold downstairs. It didn’t take them long to get up then, although Luke stayed in bed while the rest of them went downstairs. I stayed behind for a second to put some of Ashton’s joggers on that he had left behind.   
“Luke get up come on.” I said, stepping into the trackies.   
“I can’t right now.” He said, adjusting the duvet.  
“Why?” I said. “Oh.” I realised.  
“Hey don’t judge me, Nora’s a beautiful girl.” He said defensively.  
“Okay sure come down when that’s gone down then.” I said, zipping up a hoodie and walking down to the kitchen where the rest of them were eating.   
“Fuck you Grace.” Luke groaned from his place nestled in the duvet. I went downstairs and walked into the kitchen.   
“You know Luke’s only staying upstairs because he’s got morning wood and he’s embarrassed.” I said.   
“Yeah we know,” Mikey said as everyone nodded and laughed. 

We caught the bus into town from the top of my road. We split up then, me, Danni and Nora going to all of the girls shops to find dresses for tonight and all of the guys going to wherever the hell they go. Probably HMV.   
“Meet back here in an hour okay, and then we can introduce Danni to bubble tea.” Nora said, pulling me and Danni away.   
“Bye guys.” Danni said, looking at Calum. We decided to go to Topshop first, as Danni works there, so we could get a discount on everything.   
“Okay so I have an idea.” Danni says as we walk in.  
“Go on.” I said, turning to face her.  
“We can all pick out something for each other to try on.” She says. “Obviously we can all pick something out for ourselves too but you never know, you might end up loving it.”  
“This is why we’re recruiting you today Danni.” I said, laughing.  
“Okay so Grace you pick for Nora, I’ll pick for you and Nora pick for me.” She said. We all walked away from each other to pick something out. For myself I chose a black dress that pinched in at my waist and black strappy heels, and for Nora I chose a shorter deep purple dress and matching heels. I went and found them and together we all squished into a disabled cubicle.   
I ended up deciding to buy the black dress I chose, and Nora bought the dress that I chose for her and Danni chose to buy a red strapless dress. We paid and left the shop, going to find the boys to go to bubble tea.

It feels like I’m partying every single week. That’s probably because I am. Ashton pulls me onto the dance floor and presses our hips together, swaying gently as I grind slightly on his crotch. The track changes then, and Kanye West blasts out of the speakers.   
She take my money  
When I’m in need.  
Ashton and I looked at each other with such joy then, and if that doesn’t sum up our relationship then I don’t know what does. We started rapping, pointing at each other. We both obviously knew all the words, being white and all.   
Cutie the bomb met her at a beauty salon  
With a baby Louis Vuitton under her underarm  
At the chorus I squatted down to touch the floor in front of Ashton and then stood up again, wrapping my hands around his middle and his pupils were dilated and his cheeks were flushed as I swayed my hips against his. He placed his hands on my lower back, slapping my ass. I gasped and scolded him. He leant down to whisper to me.  
“Uh I have a little problem that I might need to take care of.”  
“What proble- oh!” I said, as he glanced down for a second. I laughed and let him go, walking over to Nora.  
“Hey whats up?” I said, coming to stand next to her.   
“Luke’s over there.” She replied, staring into the corner where Luke and Arzaylea were dancing together. She was really going for it, she was basically humping his leg. Nora downed her drink and put the empty cup down on the side. I watched as she walked up to Michael, pulling him directly into Luke’s eye line. She was slowly dancing with him, the track had changed over. Nora put her hands on his waist, slowly rolling her hips against his. He looked down at her, he was clearly smashed. I looked over to Luke, who was staring at the two of them. Michael then slid his hands down her lower back to hold her ass, when Luke pushed Arzaylea off him and stalked over to Michael and Nora. He pulled Nora out of Michael’s grasp, who didn’t seem that bothered and starting grinding on some random other girl next to him. Luke grabbed Nora, pulling her towards him and leaning down to whisper something in her ear. I laughed, looking around the room. In the other corner, Danni was pressed up against the wall with Calum kissing her passionately. I walked over to where Mikey had sat down on a leather sofa and sank in next to him.  
“Hi.” I said, putting my legs over his lap.  
“I am so fucked.” Michael said. “Why doesn’t anyone love me?” he said after a pause, looking at me with huge puppy dog eyes. “You have Ashton, Luke has Nora and Calum has Danni. I’m just so fucking lonely.” He said, looking down at his hands. I pulled him into a hug.  
“You will find someone, you just have to find the right someone.” I said, my alcohol soaked brain doing its best to find the words to comfort Michael.   
“I’m just gonna drink some more.” He said, pulling away and standing up. I laughed, standing up too and patting him on the back. Ashton had been gone a really long time so I walked upstairs to try and find him.  
“Ashton?” I said, looking around a door.  
“I’ve been waiting for you to come and find me.” I heard from down the corridor.  
“I came to talk to you.” That sounded like Ashton. I walked down the corridor towards where the voices were coming from. I pushed open the door to see my boyfriend pressed up against the wall, lip locked with a tall blonde girl. He looked straight at me then. I felt tears well up in my eyes. This has happened before with my last boyfriend, I thought I could trust Ashton. He pushed the girl off him but I turned away, running down the stairs.  
“Grace, wait!” I heard from behind me and I pushed through the masses of people out into the cold air of the street. I couldn’t breathe and my thoughts were jumbled, my head was thumping. I sat down on the floor and put my head in my hands, breathing quickly, tears threatening to come pouring out. I stood up and took my shoes off, stumbling down the road to take the fifteen minute walk home. I couldn’t stop the tears now at the thought that Ashton didn’t even come out to look for me.


	7. Chapter 7

I was at home alone on Tuesday night, eating Ben and Jerry’s out of the tub and watching Dance Moms on Netflix. I was wearing one of Ashton’s tshirts that he had left behind at mine. It smells like him, and that makes me really sad. We haven’t spoken since Saturday night. I glanced up at the clock and it was gone 11, but I couldn’t go to sleep yet because my parents were still at the pub. There was a knock at the door. And then another knock. And then continuous knocking.   
“Alright, alright I’m coming!” I said, flinging open the door. My words caught in my throat as Ashton was standing there. His hair was a mess and his eyes looked bloodshot. He was swaying slightly on the spot.  
“I need to talk to you.” He said.   
“I don’t want to.” I said, going to close the door. He stuck his foot in the gap to stop it from closing.   
“Please?” He said, pushing it open.  
“No.” I said, I could feel more tears pricking in my eyes as I remembered the events from three nights ago.  
“Please, I fucked up.” He said, his voice cracking he looked at me. “I messed up so badly I’ve been going crazy these last few days without you.” He said falling onto his knees and tears started spilling down his cheeks as he looked up at me. “Please. Let me explain.” He said, and I saw that he had a cut on his cheek. I opened the door, pulling him up and inside. He pulled me into a hug, and sobbed on my shoulder.   
“Bryana texted me when I was in the bathroom sorting myself out and she said she wanted to talk to me.” Ashton began, tears still flowing out of his eyes as he stood dejectedly in my hallway. “I went to go and talk to her, to tell her to leave her alone, to tell her that I have a girlfriend. But she pushed me against the wall, she kissed me and I swear I didn’t kiss back.” He said, his voice cracking again and he fell to his knees again. I knelt down to his level. I swear..” he sniffed, his eyes were red and puffy.   
“Are you telling me the truth?” I said, cupping his face and looking into his eyes.  
“Yes, and she made me go and lose you, the best fucking thing in my life. I looked for you for an hour after you left.” He cried. “I’m sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry.” He said, putting his head on my shoulder.   
“It’s okay, let’s go upstairs.” I said softly, grabbing my water bottle off the living room table and turning the telly off. I guided him upstairs as he held my hand tightly. I took off his jacket and he stepped out of his jeans. He curled up underneath my duvet and I clicked my light off, pulling him close to me. He pressed close to me, breathing heavily, pressing chaste kisses to my lips. 

The morning after, I woke quickly with sunlight pouring through my window and Ashton by my side. He was snuffling lightly in his sleep, one arm thrown across my middle. I kissed him gently on the lips, waking him up. He opened his eyes slowly, smiling.  
“Wait, how did I get here? And you’re here? And you’re kissing me! Does this mean you don’t hate me?” He said quickly and then kissed me all over.   
“Slow down!” I said giggling. “You came to my house completely off your face and told me what actually happened and then I took you up here.” I said.  
“I’m so sorry for what I did, please be my girlfriend again.” He pleaded, his big hazel eyes looking into mine.  
“Okay.” I said. “Please don’t hurt me.”   
“I won’t baby I promise I fucking swear.” He said, pressing his forehead to mine.  
“Why do you have a cut on your face?” I asked and he put a hand up to his cheek.   
“Oh. Luke punched me when I told him what happened.” Ashton said, rubbing his neck.  
“That’s Luke for you. Protective as always.” I laughed, kissing the cut gently.   
Walking to school that day felt lighter than it had in days. 

“You two are back together then?” Michael said as we sat at the tree in the field at lunch. He had a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth.  
“I could say the same about you and that death stick hanging out of your mouth.” Ashton teased. I was sat in Ashton’s lap with his arms around me.  
“Thanks for punching him by the way Luke. I would have done it myself otherwise.” I said, turning to Luke who smiled warmly at me. I always knew he had my back.  
“Movie night tonight anyone?” I asked, scrolling on my phone.   
“Yeah sure.” Michael said, lighting up. These guys stayed around my house a lot. I was lucky to have such chill parents.   
“What haven’t we watched?” Luke asked, playing with Nora’s hair.  
“I thought we could start Breaking Bad.” Danni suggested. She has only been in the group for a few days and she’s already a fully-fledged member.   
“My mum bought us all matching bear onesies.” I mentioned, remembering on Sunday when my mum came home with 7 fluffy multi-coloured onesies. Luke chuckled lightly. “You think I’m joking Lucas? My mum literally came home with 7 fluffy onesies the other night. And you’re all gonna wear one. I swear she sees you as her own children.” I said, rolling her eyes.   
“What would we do without your mum?” Nora laughed. I relaxed into Ashton’s arms. 

In double music that afternoon, I was working on recording a song with Luke in the studio when Ashton asked if he could have some help with his piece.   
“Grace, can you come with me for a second?” He said.  
“Sure.” I said, taking off my headphones and telling Luke I would be right back. I followed Ashton into the music stock cupboard which he locked behind us. He pushed me up against the wall, making butterflies erupt in my stomach. He kissed me firmly as one of his hands drifted to rest on my waist.   
“Why can’t I fucking resist you? How are you so beautiful?” He murmured against my neck as he kissed delicate kisses down to my chest. I was wearing one of his vests with a black bandeau underneath to hide my bra. He pushed his crotch against mine and I grinded back, and he gasped. I kissed him, licking his bottom lip for entrance. We deepened the kiss until he was hot and flustered and it was that point that I kissed him quickly and said I had to go.”  
“This is to be continued tonight.” I said, fixing my top and my hair. “See you later babe.” And I walked out, leaving him starry eyed and pitching a tent. I walked back to the studio to a smirking Luke, who raised his eyebrows.   
“What?” I said innocently.  
“Nice hickey.” He said simply before going back to gently picking his strings for the song he’d written. I blushed and smiled, rubbing at my neck.   
“Okay smartass, start singing into the mic when you’re ready.” I said, putting the headphones on again and pressing play on the recording of his guitar so he knew when to come in.   
“…I drove by all the places we used to hang out getting wasted…”


	8. Chapter 8

It was 11pm, and we were sleeping over at mine and we were all in our onesies and I read an advertisement about an ice cream parlour that was open at this time. And that’s how 7 teenagers in bear onesies ended up sitting in a booth in an ice cream parlour at midnight. This is the kind of thing that I do with my friends.   
“I think I’m gonna get chocolate.” Luke said, pouring over the menu.   
“I’m definitely getting the Nutella one.” Ashton said, closing his menu. I smiled at my friends. I loved how they were all totally up for coming out with me at this time to get ice cream. The inside of the parlour was painted pastel colours like pink and mint green and there was a huge island lined with pastel coloured stools. It was so cute in here. It was completely empty except for us and a tired looking waitress.   
“Guys would you rather be turned on forever or never turned on?” Calum asked, closing his menu.  
“Definitely turned on forever.” I said and Danni and Nora agreed with me.   
“What??? No!” Luke said, shaking his head. “That would be so inconvenient!”   
“Yeah for you!” I said. “You have a penis!”   
“I wish I had a penis.” Nora said.  
“Yeah same, then we could just pee wherever we want.” Danni said, piling up the menus.   
“You don’t want a penis because then you get awkward boners that you can’t hide all the time.” Michael chipped in. The waitress walked over.  
“Can I take your orders?” She said. We placed our orders and she walked off to the back where I presume there was someone making the ice cream.  
“Okay but vaginas are so much better.” Ashton said, leaning back and putting his arm across the back of my seat.  
“How would you know?” Danni said.  
“They’re pretty for a start.” Michael said.  
“How are they pretty? No.” Nora said.   
“I think they’re pretty.” I said, laughing.  
“Yeah but you would.” Nora said, giggling with me.  
“Wait hold up. What?” Michael said, holding up a hand.   
“Oh I’m bisexual.” I said.  
“How did we not know this?!” Calum exclaimed.”  
“I knew.” Luke said and everyone looked at him.  
“How did you know?” Michael said. I felt Ashton put a hand on my upper thigh, squeezing gently and rubbing with his thumb.   
“I don’t know, it came up in conversation?” Luke shrugged, putting his arm around Nora.  
“That is so hot.” Ashton said, chuckling.  
“What? Really?” I said, shocked.   
“Yeah, you would make a great pornstar.” Michael said and I laughed.  
“Aw, thanks. You’re too kind.” I replied.  
“Hey don’t call my girlfriend a pornstar.” Ashton said defensively. The woman walked up with a tray of our orders and gave us our ice cream. I tucked in, scraping at it with my spoon and putting it in my mouth. I immediately moaned around my spoon, that was some fucking good ice cream. I looked to my left and Michael and Ashton were staring at me. I covered my mouth.  
“Oops. Sorry.” I said, giggling behind my hand.  
“Yeah you would make a good pornstar.” Michael laughed and Ashton elbowed him. 

***

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I glanced at the red numbers on my clock. 2:48am. Who is calling me at this time? I sat up groggily, picking up my phone and sliding to answer, holding it to my ear.  
“Mm… hello?” I grunted. There was a faint sound of sobbing on the other end. I glanced at the caller id. Michael.   
“P-please. Come here.” He stuttered, wheezing down the phone. I could hear him crying.  
“I’m in the park.” He said and the phone line when dead. I rushed out of bed, pulling on my shoes and running out of the house with my coat. I ran down the road to the park. I didn’t know what to do I couldn’t lose Michael, he was so special to me. It was cold outside as it was nearing the end of October. I ran through the entrance to the park, the cold wind nipping at my skin and the rain hit my face, scorching drops onto my face. I ran along the slippery path, rain bouncing off the pavement next to me. The wind was loud and rang in my ears as I ran through the woods, the only thing on my mind was Michael and finding him. On the other sides of the wood next to an orange lamppost I saw a body lying on the floor, hunched over. I ran over.  
“Michael!” I screamed as I approached. I got to him, falling to my knees next to his curled up body. He was shaking and there was a puddle of vomit next to him, his phone hanging out of his hand. “Michael.” I said again, unable to form words. His skin was tinged grey, his jacket was soaking wet and he was covered in mud. I checked his pulse, it was still going, but slowly. I pulled off my jacket quickly, lying it over his body.   
“Michael oh god what have you done?” I muttered, tears rolling down my cheeks as I turned him into the recovery position so he wouldn’t choke. I picked up my phone with shaky hands and dialled an ambulance.   
“Hello 999, what’s your emergency?” spoke a calm woman from the other side of my receiver. “  
“I need an ambulance. I think my friend has alcohol poisoning.” I choked. I told her where we were and lay with Michael, stroking his hair as he coughed up vomit. My tears dripped onto his cheek where it lay in my lap.   
“Fuck Michael, what happened?” I said, hunching over him, sobbing. Two men ran over five minutes later, picking him up and putting him on a stretcher. I followed them quickly back to the ambulance. I climbed into the back of the ambulance alongside him, holding his hand as he lay almost lifeless. I felt numb as the paramedics talked to me as we drove. I could barely hear them, it was like I was underwater. When we got to the hospital they rushed him off.  
“Let me come with him! He needs me!” I yelled.   
“Excuse me Miss would you please stay calm, and take a seat in the waiting room. We will let you know as soon as you can see your boyfriend.” A female nurse said, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder and guiding me to a hard seat as I ran my hands through my hair.   
“He’s not my boyfriend.” I muttered, nibbling at the skin around my nails. I should text Luke, Calum and Ashton though to tell them what’s happened. I opened the group chat and typed a message that would have taken much less time if my hands would stop shaking.  
Come to the hospital here with Michael alcohol poisoning  
I didn’t get a response straight away. I was suddenly very aware of the time and the fact that I was freezing cold and my pyjamas were soaking wet. I realised that I was still crying, hot tears making tracks on my muddy cheeks. I dialled Ashton’s number. It rang four times until he finally picked up.  
“mmh hello?” He said quietly when he picked up.”   
“He just rang me in the middle of the night from the park and I went to find him and he was in a puddle of his own vomit and he has a cut on his head and he was barely breathing and now we’re at the hospital and they won’t let me see him and I can’t breathe.” I said quickly, sobbing.  
“Who?” Ashton said urgently, fully awake now.  
“Michael.” I said quietly.  
“I’m on my way. Ring Luke and Calum to tell them too, they won’t wake up if you text them. I’ll see you as soon as possible babe.” He said and then the line went dead. I rang Luke and Calum and told them what had happened. I rang Nora too after a second thought, she cares a lot about Michael. Danni had seen the message on the group chat and was on her way.   
“You can come and see him now.” The doctor said. I nodded, wiping my eyes and following him down the brightly lit corridor. He opened a door for me to go through into a dimly lit room. Michael was lying on a bed, his breaths were loud like the sound of the ocean on the heart rate monitor.   
“He’s almost awake.” The doctor said behind me. I walked over to Mikey, holding his hand and pulling up a chair next to him. “He gave his liver a real kicking tonight. We have had to intubate him to get the alcohol out of his stomach, but he’s stable now. The cut on his head is only minor, probably from when he passed out and hit his head somewhere, that’ll just heal like a normal cut. He will probably have trouble swallowing for the next couple of weeks, and the lining of his stomach will be very sensitive.” I could only hear him briefly, all I cared about was that he was okay.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a teary day in that hospital, we stayed with Michael for the rest of the day and he got discharged in the evening. Everyone arrived just after I got let into Michael’s room and he had woken up soon after that. There was a new sadness in his eyes, like a sparkle had gone out. I told him that he would be sleeping at mine for the next week, I didn’t want a repeat of what happened and I felt a lot more comfortable with him where I could see him for a while. He hasn’t said much since he was discharged, and that night we were sat in my bed and I was cuddling him when he started crying. His phone was lying on the other side of the room and it was going off almost every two minutes. After twenty minutes, he broke down. I held him while he cried against me and then I dried his eyes.   
“Please tell me what’s wrong.” I pleaded, holding his hands.  
“I don’t know if I can.” He mumbled, his voice cracking and threatening tears again.   
“Please. It’s me.” I said quietly. He told me everything then. There was a girl called Olivia. Mikey had gone to a party a month ago and gotten drunk. He had sex with this girl, and she texted him two days ago. She’s pregnant. She says she hasn’t decided whether to keep the baby or not. He told his parent’s and his mum was understanding but his dad hit him over the head. He called him a reckless, stupid and irresponsible boy and told him to leave the house for a few days, and not come back until he’s fixed this mess. He went to go and see Olivia. He said that he doesn’t want to be a father, but she says she isn’t sure. I hugged him tightly while he cried against me, letting all of his emotions out.  
“Please don’t make me find you in a forest again, half dead. Please come to me before it goes that far.” I said, holding him. He sniffed and nodded.   
“I just don’t know what to do.” He said quietly.  
“It’s all going to work out. I promise.” I said, rubbing comforting circles on his back.   
“Thank you.” He said sincerely.   
“I don’t think you should drink for a while.” I said, pulling away to look into his eyes.  
“What do I do for Halloween?”   
“Just get high or something instead.” I said, and we settled back against my headboard to watch Breaking Bad. I heard a knock at the door and it was gently pushed open. Ashton and Luke were there. I smiled warmly at the two of them as they entered, Nora coming in after Luke. Luke and Nora settled into the bed next to mine and Ashton climbed over me and Michael to settle in next to me. He kissed me softly.  
“Hey.” He whispered, and I settled against him.   
“Where’s Danni and Calum?” I asked, realising the absence of the two of them.  
“I think they’re staying over at Danni’s house. Don’t ask me what they’re doing, I don’t want to know.” Luke said. 

Later that night when everyone had drifted to sleep, and Michael had gone over to Nora’s bed to cuddle with them, Ashton and I were still awake. I faced him, stroking the side of his face as he kissed me, his hands travelling down my back to my ass cupping gently and pulling me closer to him. I kissed down his neck, sucking gently and leaving a trail of purple marks along the ridges of his collarbones. He pulled me up to his lips again, pushing up gently with his crotch against me. We fell into a rhythm together, sweaty and desperate, rutting against each other for some kind of simple release. He took his tshirt off over his head and smiled at me, pulling a silver packet out of his pocket.  
The next morning, I woke up in Ashton’s arms covered by my duvet, but I was completely naked.   
“Good morning.” Ashton whispered gently to me. I smiled, cuddling closer to him. He was warm, and safe and wherever he was, was where I felt most at home.  
“I’m a bit naked.” I said as his hands wandered over my body.   
“Mmm I like it, I could get used to waking up like this.” He said, kissing my jaw softly.  
“Do you want to go and shower?” I said quietly, not wanting to wake the others.  
“Together?” He whispered hopefully. I chuckled gently.  
“Sure come on.” He fiddled under the sheets for a second, pulling his boxers on. I wrapped the duvet around me and we walked to the bathroom quietly, stepping over various items of clothing on the floor. We got into the bathroom and he went in to kiss me. I stopped him and locked the door.  
“Do you want to play a game?” I asked, smirking.  
“What kind of game?” He said, holding my waist.  
“We shower together, and if you kiss me first, then you cook breakfast for everyone. If I kiss you first, I cook breakfast.” I said, tracing a finger down his chest before turning to flick the shower on.   
“Easy.” He said, and we climbed in together. I stepped under the stream of water, wetting my body all over. He grabbed the apple body wash from the side and lathered it up in my hands.  
“Can I?” He asked, and I nodded and he started to rub it into my chest.  
He cooked breakfast for everyone that morning.   
***  
It was Halloween. Me and Ashton were obviously going as Catwoman and Batman in a cheesy couples costume. He picked it out for us, I think he was just drawn to the thought of me in form fitting lycra, so I agreed. Nora was going as a mouse, but obviously a sexy one. Luke was going to be there. She had her short grey dress on and some small mouse ears, along with eyeliner makeup. As promised, Michael was only smoking weed tonight to avoid another alcohol related incident. I hoped that we could get through this night with no drama but knowing our friendship group that was never gonna happen. It was Arzaylea’s party tonight, and we all decided to go because at the end of the day it was a party. Ashton and I had agreed to smoke with Michael so he wasn’t getting high alone. That’s how I ended up sitting cross-legged in a small typically British back garden wearing a cat woman costume as Michael lit up a spliff. When we had finished, we went into her kitchen to find some food. This was a fancy kitchen and there was barely anyone in here. There was a couple of people looking for a bottle opener and there next to the microwave was Luke and Nora, truly getting it on. Nora was sitting up on the counter with Luke in between her legs, holding her ass to push her against him.   
“Hey guys.” Michael said, looking in the cupboards for any kind of food. He stumbled upon a huge box of Lucky Charms. We all gasped.   
“This is gonna be fucking awesome.” Ashton stated as he saw the cereal box. 

After a long night of dancing, we were stumbling home to my house, when Michael decided that he wanted to dye his hair bubblegum pink tonight. So now we were in my bathroom, high and trying to read hair dye instructions. In the end it turned out well though, and it resembles candy floss. We all crashed in a pile on the floor of my bedroom surrounded by duvets and blankets. This was a typical Saturday night for us.


	10. Chapter 10

“Guys we’re going on a roadtrip.” Mikey yelled, bursting into my room. We had the rest of the week off and I gave Mikey the job of finding something for us to do this week. “I’ve rented an RV for the next week and we leave this afternoon, get packing! Meet back here at 2.” He said and then left the room with a bang, leaving everyone else to scramble up and go home to pack. Once everyone had left my room I packed 6 tshirts and a pair of leggings. I was already wearing jeans. I packed 3 pairs of pretty underwear and three pairs of normal underwear. I was already wearing my baby blue lacy bra. I packed two hoodies into my bag then, walking into my bathroom and packing a toothbrush and various toiletries. I wondered absently where we were going to go on this magical roadtrip that Mikey had planned.   
Three hours later and four out of seven of us were standing outside my house with coats on and our bags piled up on the pavement. From around the corner there was a loud beeping noise of a horn and a huge RV came tearing round the corner and screeched to a halt in front of us. Mikey was hanging out of the driver’s window and he tilted his sunglasses down his nose to look at us over the top of the rims.   
“Get in losers we’re going shopping.” He said and Luke cheered at the Mean Girls quote. Calum swung open the creaky door of the RV, and we climbed on and looked around. There was a small kitchen on one side of the van and there were windows with blinds on them. In the back there were a couple of bunks with curtains covering it.  
“First stop! Tesco’s!” Mikey announced, and we all cheered. Parking the RV was the most embarrassing thing I have ever witnessed. We were obnoxiously parked over 5 spaces in the end. Mikey climbed out and stood next to us, rubbing his neck.   
“It’s not great is it?” He said dejectedly.   
“No but we’re just gonna have to be quick.” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. We split off into twos, each pair taking a trolley.  
“My mum has given me money so just get enough food for 6 or so days of travelling.” He said. “Meet back here in a bit.” He said.  
We met back up soon after and Mikey paid with a credit card.   
“Uh Mikey did your mum give you money or did you take it?” Ashton laughed.  
“Same difference.” Mikey chuckled, tucking it back into a slot in his wallet and pushing it back into his pocket. We unpack the food onto the RV, leaving the trolleys in the middle of the carpark. Mikey pulls out of the carpark and all of us cheered. This was where it began. I started unpacking stuff out of the bags into the fridge and the cupboards.   
“We bought so much food, fuck me.” I said, pulling bag after bag of marshmallows out of the bag.   
“Later baby.” Ashton said, laughing loudly in one of his incredible chuckles. I blew a kiss at him and he pretended to catch it.   
“You guys are so cute it’s gross.” Luke said, reaching over me to grab something out of the fridge. Calum was sat in the front of the RV with Mikey, sitting with his feet up on the dashboard. Danni and Nora were both sitting around the table, on their phones. Luke slipped in next to Nora on the sofa, swinging an arm around her and taking a sip of his beer. Nora lay her head on his shoulder, linking their hands together. I noticed him rubbing circles on the back of Nora’s hand.  
“Are you guys together yet?” Ashton said, helping me unpack the food.   
“Oh, well we weren’t gonna say anything but uh yeah it’s official. She’s my girlfriend.” Luke said, blushing and squeezing Nora’s hand. Ashton jumped on Luke like an excited puppy.   
“That’s so cute!!” He shouted. “It’s about time. I thought you were gonna be having sex with your hand for the next 6 m-” He said, earning himself a shove to the arm.  
“Hey, come on now Ashton. Stop teasing him, it’s not like you don’t have some dirty secrets.” Calum said, coming to join us. I sat down next to Ashton and Calum squeezed in next to Danni on the other side.  
“Maybe I’ll tell everyone about that time in y7.” Ashton retorted to Calum.  
“You wouldn’t dare.” Calum replied, stretching back in his seat.   
“Calum got a boner on the school stage.” Ashton said, laughing.  
“Ashton has a daddy kink.” Calum said simply, causing the rest of us to laugh as Ashton turned bright red.   
“Oh my god is that true?” Nora said, wiping her eye. Ashton looked uncomfortable and I put a hand on his upper thigh squeezing gently. I kissed his cheek.  
“It doesn’t bother me at all.” I leaned in really close and right up to his ear. “It’s kind of hot.” I said, kissing the shell of his ear gently. Calum looked shocked.   
“You’re cool with that? Ashton never let her go.” Calum said looking him straight in the eyes. Ashton laughed and put his hand on my leg. Mikey pulled into an RV park and shut off the engine. He came back to sit with us.  
“I’m bored let’s play a game.” He said. “Truth or dare.”   
“Sure.” I said. “Let’s move to the floor though.”  
Two minutes later, we were all settled on the carpeted floor.   
“Grace, you have to go first.” Michael said.  
“Why me?” I said, mock offended.   
“Because I say so and I have the money.” He declared.  
“Fair enough. Dare.” I said, sitting up.  
“Kiss Nora.” Ashton said quickly.   
“Really?” I said, laughing and groaning.  
“We just found out that you’re bi, I need something to prove it. I agree with Ashton.” Michael said, leaning back against the wall.  
“Hmm okay, but not for long.” Luke said, letting Nora go. We settled in front of each other.  
“You guys do realise that we’ve done this before?” Nora said, turning to look around.  
“Yeah but we weren’t there to see it.” Ashton piped up. I moved my hair out of my face and we shuffled closer together. I got onto my knees and Nora did the same. I cupped her face and kissed her softly, she put one hand in my hair. The rules of Truth or Dare is that a kiss has to last at least 5 seconds so we decided to make the most of it. We were on our knees, pressed together and Nora put one hand on my lower back, pulling me closer and then we pulled apart. We laughed as we looked at each other. Luke pulled Nora back against him and I sat on my feet to come and sit next to Ashton.  
“Luke babe chill I’m not gonna steal your girl.” I laughed and Nora sat in his lap, kissing his neck gently. Ashton and Mikey both had a pillow in their lap.   
“Aw come on seriously?” I said. “That was so tame!”  
“Hey don’t judge me.” Mikey said, shifting the pillow uncomfortably.  
“That was really hot.” Calum said and Ashton nodded in agreement.   
“What did you mean you’ve done that before?” Luke said, any jealousy gone from his eyes now that Nora was perched in his lap. She rolled her eyes at me though.   
“I had a bi phase about a year ago and I asked Grace if we could kiss to see what it was like to kiss a girl.” Nora said, shrugging. “No offence Grace babe but there weren’t any sparks.”  
“I’m heartbroken.” I said sarcastically.   
“Bitch you would be lucky to have me.” Nora said.  
“Aww no sparks I’m so sad, was I not a good kisser?” I said, pouting.  
“No you were a good kisser. I just generally don’t like girls.” She said laughing as Luke’s arm tightened around her middle.  
“I can back that she’s a good kisser.” Ashton chipped in.  
“Aw thanks babe are there sparks with me for you?” I said laughing.  
“Always.” Ashton said, kissing me.


End file.
